Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders

¹³We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. ¹⁴When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. ¹⁵The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Kios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus.^{† 16}Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus^† to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem,^† if possible, by the day of Pentecost.^†

¹⁷From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders^† of the church. ¹⁸When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you,^† from the first day I came into the province of Asia. ¹⁹I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.^{† 20}You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything^† that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. ²¹I have declared to both Jews^† and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance^† and have faith in our Lord Jesus.^†

²²“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem,^† not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me^† that prison and hardships are facing me.^{† 24}However, I consider my life worth nothing to me,^† if only I may finish the race and complete the task^† the Lord Jesus has given me^†—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.

²⁵“Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.^{† 26}Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men.^{† 27}For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.^{† 28}Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.^{[70] †} Be shepherds of the church of God,^[71] which he bought with his own blood. ²⁹I know that after I leave, savage wolves^† will come in among you and will not spare the flock.^{† 30}Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples^† after them. ³¹So be on your guard! Remember that for three years^† I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.^†

³²“Now I commit you to God^† and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance^† among all those who are sanctified.^{† 33}I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.^{† 34}You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.^{† 35}In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

³⁶When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.^{† 37}They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him.^{† 38}What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again.^† Then they accompanied him to the ship.

Acts 21

On to Jerusalem

¹After we^† had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Cos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. ²We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia,^† went on board and set sail. ³After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴Finding the disciples^† there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit^† they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way. All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray.^{† 6}After saying good-by to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.

⁷We continued our voyage from Tyre^† and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers^† and stayed with them for a day. ⁸Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea^† and stayed at the house of Philip^† the evangelist,^† one of the Seven. ⁹He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.^†

¹⁰After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus^† came down from Judea. ¹¹Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind^† the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ”^†

¹²When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die^† in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”^{† 14}When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

¹⁵After this, we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶Some of the disciples from Caesarea^† accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus^† and one of the early disciples.

Paul’s Arrival at Jerusalem

¹⁷When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly.^{† 18}The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James,^† and all the elders^† were present. ¹⁹Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles^† through his ministry.^†

²⁰When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous^† for the law.^{† 21}They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses,^† telling them not to circumcise their children^† or live according to our customs.^{† 22}What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, ²³so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow.^{† 24}Take these men, join in their purification rites^† and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved.^† Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. ²⁵As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”^†

²⁶The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.^†

Paul Arrested

²⁷When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,^{† 28}shouting, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place.”^{† 29}(They had previously seen Trophimus^† the Ephesian^† in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple area.)

³⁰The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul,^† they dragged him^† from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. ³¹While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. ³²He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.^†

³³The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound^† with two^† chains.^† Then he asked who he was and what he had done. ³⁴Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another,^† and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.^{† 35}When Paul reached the steps,^† the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. ³⁶The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Away with him!”^†

Paul Speaks to the Crowd

³⁷As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks,^† he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?”

“Do you speak Greek?” he replied. ³⁸“Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the desert^† some time ago?”^†

³⁹Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus^† in Cilicia,^† a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.”

⁴⁰Having received the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned^† to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to

Acts 22

them in Aramaic^[72]:^{† 1}“Brothers and fathers,^† listen now to my defense.”

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Gamaliel, Paul’s Teacher

Acts 22 Gamaliel was one of the greatest teachers of Judaism. His grandfather, Hillel, founded the more liberal of the two main schools of the Pharisees,¹ and Gamaliel was the first of seven leaders of the school of Hillel to be honored with the title Rabban, “Our Rabbi.” Paul, while making his defense on the steps of the Fortress of Antonia after his arrest in the temple, stated that he had been brought up in Jerusalem and, under Gamaliel, “thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers” (Ac 22:3). Paul, in other words, had received the best possible Jewish education of his day.

Gamaliel is also mentioned in chapter 5 in connection with the appearance of Peter and the apostles before the Sanhedrin on the charge of teaching about Jesus.² The members of the Sanhedrin became incensed when Peter and the apostles declared “We must obey God rather than men!” (5:29) and were about to put them to death. But Gamaliel, “ a Pharisee … a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people” (5:34), as a member of the Sanhedrin persuaded them to let the apostles go, wisely observing, “If their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men” (5:38–39).

Gamaliel was a man of great intellect who studied not only Biblical law but also Greek literature (his love of Greek set him apart from many of his more zealous rabbinical colleagues). Gamaliel tended to be pragmatic in his interpretation of the law and was known for his tolerant attitude. He recommended that Sabbath observance be less rigorous and burdensome, regulated laws of divorce in order to protect women³ and urged kindness toward Gentiles.

1. See “The Pharisees.”

2. See “The Sanhedrin.”

3. See “Marriage and Divorce in Ancient Israel.”

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²When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic,^† they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: ³“I am a Jew,^† born in Tarsus^† of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under^† Gamaliel^† I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers^† and was just as zealous^† for God as any of you are today. ⁴I persecuted^† the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,^{† 5}as also the high priest and all the Council^† can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers^† in Damascus,^† and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.^{† 7}I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸“ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹My companions saw the light,^† but they did not understand the voice^† of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰“ ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’^{† 11}My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.^†

¹²“A man named Ananias came to see me.^† He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.^{† 13}He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴“Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers^† has chosen you to know his will and to see^† the Righteous One^† and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵You will be his witness^† to all men of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized^† and wash your sins away,^† calling on his name.’^†

¹⁷“When I returned to Jerusalem^† and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance^{† 18}and saw the Lord speaking. ‘Quick!’ he said to me. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

¹⁹“ ‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison^† and beat^† those who believe in you. ²⁰And when the blood of your martyr^[73] Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’^†

²¹“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”^†

Paul the Roman Citizen

²²The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him!^† He’s not fit to live!”^†

²³As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks^† and flinging dust into the air,^{† 24}the commander ordered Paul to be taken into the barracks.^† He directed^† that he be flogged and questioned in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. ²⁵As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”^†

²⁶When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

²⁸Then the commander said, “I had to pay a big price for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

²⁹Those who were about to question him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen,^† in chains.

Before the Sanhedrin

³⁰The next day, since the commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews,^† he released him^† and ordered the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin^† to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

Acts 23

¹Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin^† and said, “My brothers,^† I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience^† to this day.” ²At this the high priest Ananias^† ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.^{† 3}Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!^† You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”^†

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The Sanhedrin

Acts 23 The Greek noun synedrion can be used generically to indicate a civic council or a local court. Within the New Testament, however, the Sanhedrin refers to the highest Jewish judicial council in Jerusalem, under the leadership of the high priest (Ac 5:21; 22:5; 23:1–2). According to rabbinic sources, the Jerusalem Sanhedrin was comprised of 71 members, reflecting the Biblical practice instituted by Moses (70 elders plus Moses; see Ex 24:1, 9; Nu 11:16).

The idea of a ruling council composed of leading aristocratic citizens reflects the structure of Greek civic constitutions. The high priestly aristocracy played a leading role from the outset, but the Sanhedrin was gradually forced to make way for lay representatives drawn largely from the Pharisees. During the New Testament period, the Jerusalem Sanhedrin consisted of a sometimes mutually-hostile mixture of aristocratic, priestly Sadducees and learned, lay Pharisees (Ac 23:6–9).¹ Membership in the Sanhedrin was conferred by appointment and accompanied by a ceremony of ordination through the laying on of hands (cf. Nu 27:18–23; Dt 34:9).

The Sanhedrin functioned as the supreme Jewish court, trying appellate cases sent up from lower courts and maintaining an exclusive competence over certain cases. For example, a high priest or a false prophet could be tried only by the Jerusalem Sanhedrin. Even during the era of direct Roman rule, the Sanhedrin retained a significant degree of juridical authority. This was particularly true on matters deemed to be of importance specifically within Jewish law (Jn 18:31; Ac 18:15; 24:6).

The authority of the Sanhedrin to adjudicate capital crimes during the first century A.D. has been the focus of much research and debate. Prior to this time the Sanhedrin, like other supreme courts in the ancient world, clearly possessed such authority. But afterward the power of the sword appears to have lain exclusively in Roman hands. The real situation of the first century reflects a period of legal ambiguity, in which both Roman and Jewish leaders competed for ultimate control. On the one hand, key sources attest to a gradual increase in Roman claims to try and execute capital crimes (Josephus, Antiquities, 18.1.1; Wars, 2.8.1). Some Jewish and Christian sources suggest that capital authority was removed from Israel during this period (Jn 18:31). On the other hand, literary and archaeological sources suggest that the Sanhedrin did in fact possess authority in capital cases, especially in those pertaining to the desecration of the sanctuary or other specifically religious charges, such as blasphemy (Mt 26:59–66; Ac 6:11–7:60; 21:27–33; Antiquities, 20.9.1; Wars, 6.2.4).

1. See “The Pharisees” and “The Sadducees.”

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⁴Those who were standing near Paul said, “You dare to insult God’s high priest?”

⁵Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’^[74] ”^†

⁶Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers,^† I am a Pharisee,^† the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead.”^{† 7}When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸(The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection,^† and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)

⁹There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees^† stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,”^† they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”^{† 10}The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.^†

¹¹The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage!^† As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”^†

The Plot to Kill Paul

¹²The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.^{† 13}More than forty men were involved in this plot. ¹⁴They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.^{† 15}Now then, you and the Sanhedrin^† petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”

¹⁶But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks^† and told Paul.

¹⁷Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” ¹⁸So he took him to the commander.

The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner,^† sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

¹⁹The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”

²⁰He said: “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin^† tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him.^{† 21}Don’t give in to them, because more than forty^† of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him.^† They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”

²²The commander dismissed the young man and cautioned him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

Paul Transferred to Caesarea

²³Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen^[75] to go to Caesarea^† at nine tonight.^{† 24}Provide mounts for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”^†

²⁵He wrote a letter as follows:

²⁶Claudius Lysias,

To His Excellency,^† Governor Felix:

Greetings.^†

²⁷This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him,^† but I came with my troops and rescued him,^† for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen.^{† 28}I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin.^{† 29}I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law,^† but there was no charge against him^† that deserved death or imprisonment. ³⁰When I was informed^† of a plot^† to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers^† to present to you their case against him.

³¹So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. ³²The next day they let the cavalry^† go on with him, while they returned to the barracks.^{† 33}When the cavalry^† arrived in Caesarea,^† they delivered the letter to the governor^† and handed Paul over to him. ³⁴The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,^{† 35}he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers^† get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard^† in Herod’s palace.

Acts 24

The Trial Before Felix

¹Five days later the high priest Ananias^† went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges^† against Paul before the governor.^{† 2}When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. ³Everywhere and in every way, most excellent^† Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. ⁴But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.

⁵“We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots^† among the Jews^† all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene^† sect^{† 6}and even tried to desecrate the temple;^† so we seized him. ⁸By^[76] examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”

⁹The Jews joined in the accusation,^† asserting that these things were true.

¹⁰When the governor^† motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: “I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense. ¹¹You can easily verify that no more than twelve days^† ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. ¹²My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple,^† or stirring up a crowd^† in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. ¹³And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.^{† 14}However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers^† as a follower of the Way,^† which they call a sect.^† I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,^{† 15}and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection^† of both the righteous and the wicked.^{† 16}So I strive always to keep my conscience clear^† before God and man.

¹⁷“After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor^† and to present offerings. ¹⁸I was ceremonially clean^† when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.^{† 19}But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.^{† 20}Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin— ²¹unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’ ”^†

²²Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said, “I will decide your case.” ²³He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard^† but to give him some freedom^† and permit his friends to take care of his needs.^†

²⁴Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.^{† 25}As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control^† and the judgment^† to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” ²⁶At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.

²⁷When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus,^† but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews,^† he left Paul in prison.^†

Acts 25

The Trial Before Festus

¹Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea^† to Jerusalem, ²where the chief priests and Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.^{† 3}They urgently requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. ⁴Festus answered, “Paul is being held^† at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. ⁵Let some of your leaders come with me and press charges against the man there, if he has done anything wrong.”

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The Roman Governor

Acts 25 Six Roman governors are mentioned in the New Testament: Quirinius (Syria; Lk 2:2), Pilate (Judea; Mt 27:2–65, etc.),¹ Sergius Paulus (Cyprus; Ac 13:6–12),² Gallio (Achaia; 18:12–17), Felix (Judea; 23:23–24:27; 25:14)³ and Festus (Judea; 24:27–26:32). They administered their provinces from a capital city and lived in a palace-fortress called a praetorium. In Judea the Roman administrative center was at Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean coast; there Paul was held prisoner (23:33–35).⁴ There was also a praetorium in Jerusalem where the governor would stay when he was in residence there; there Jesus was tried and mocked (Mt 27:27; Mk 15:16; Jn 18:28; 19:9).

When Archelaus, the son of Herod the Great, was stripped of his power in A.D. 6, the governance of the territory of Judea was transferred to the ruler of Syria, Quirinius.⁵ Coponius was chosen as the new governor of Judea and was given the title of praefectus (prefect). The prefect alone controlled the appointment of high priests and retained the prerogative of capital punishment. In cases in which the sanctity of the temple had allegedly been violated, the Sanhedrin may also have been able to exercise the right to impose the death sentence, but even then the governor had to give his consent.⁶ After A.D. 44 the governor’s title was changed to procurator, an equestrian rank. Although the procurator continued to exercise full judicial powers, he lost the right to appoint and depose high priests.

Felix, a freed slave of the family of Emperor Claudius,⁷ was governor of Judea from A.D. 52 to 60. During his tenure Felix married Drusilla, the great-granddaughter of Herod the Great (24:24).⁸ His rule was marked by unrest, and he was ultimately recalled to Rome and tried for his misgovernment, resulting in banishment. Paul was confined at Caesarea for two years, until Festus replaced Felix in A.D. 60 (24:27).⁹ Festus speedily acted upon Paul’s case and granted his request to be tried in Rome (25:12). Festus’s term was cut short when he died unexpectedly two years after his appointment. According to Josephus (Antiquities, 20.9.1), before Festus’s successor arrived in Judea, the high priest Ananias usurped the procurator’s sole right to impose capital punishment and had James the brother of Jesus executed, along with several others whom he claimed had broken Jewish law.¹⁰

1. See “Pontius Pilate.”

2. See “Sergius Paulus, Proconsul of Cyprus.”

3. See “Gallio, Proconsul of Achaia.”

4. See “Caesarea Maritima.”

5. See “Caesar Augustus, Emperor of Rome; the Census; and Quirinius, Governor of Syria.”

6. See “The Sanhedrin.”

7. See “Claudius, Emperor of Rome.”

8. See “Herod the Great.”

9. See “Imprisonment in the Roman World: In Prison Versus House Arrest.”

10.See “The High Priests Annas and Caiaphas.”

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⁶After spending eight or ten days with them, he went down to Caesarea, and the next day he convened the court^† and ordered that Paul be brought before him. ⁷When Paul appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him,^† which they could not prove.^†

⁸Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple^† or against Caesar.”

⁹Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor,^† said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”^†

¹⁰Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. ¹¹If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”^†

¹²After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”

Festus Consults King Agrippa

¹³A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea^† to pay their respects to Festus. ¹⁴Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner.^{† 15}When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him^† and asked that he be condemned.

¹⁶“I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers and has had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges.^{† 17}When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in.^{† 18}When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. ¹⁹Instead, they had some points of dispute^† with him about their own religion^† and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. ²⁰I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.^{† 21}When Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”^†

²²Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”

He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”^†

Paul Before Agrippa

²³The next day Agrippa and Bernice^† came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high ranking officers and the leading men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community^† has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.^{† 25}I found he had done nothing deserving of death,^† but because he made his appeal to the Emperor^† I decided to send him to Rome. ²⁶But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. ²⁷For I think it is unreasonable to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him.”

Acts 26

¹Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”^†

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Imprisonment in the Roman World: In Prison Versus House Arrest

Acts 26 Persons were imprisoned in Roman times while awaiting trial or execution, for political reasons or for ensuring compliance with a judicial order. Paul was detained for trial in Caesarea (Ac 23:33–24:27) and in Rome (Ac 28:16), John the Baptist was imprisoned for accusing Herod of adultery and thus threatening his political authority (Lk 3:19–20) and debtors were sometimes imprisoned to pressure them to pay their debts (Mt 18:30; Lk 12:58). Imprisonment as a method of formal punishment was rare.

Times of detention were neither limited nor strongly enforced, and ordinarily the prisoner was poorly treated. Many were beaten, tortured and given inadequate food and water, although a prisoner of higher status would often fare better. Herod Agrippa I, before he became ethnarch of Judea and Samaria (Ac 12), experienced various degrees of imprisonment. At first Emperor Tiberius¹ placed him in chains in a military camp under the prefect of the praetorians in Rome. Tiberius’s sister-in-law, Antonia, lessened the severity of conditions during this incarceration, asking the guard to be more humane, to allow Agrippa to bathe every day and to permit his friends to bring him food and clothing. After Tiberius died Agrippa was allowed to live in his own private residence. He was still guarded and chained at the wrist to a guard each day but was permitted to handle his own affairs (Josephus, Antiquities, 18.6.6–11).

Paul was probably detained in the Praetorium, a fortress or governor’s residence, while in Caesarea.² While in Rome he was allowed to dwell outside the military camp, as well as to find and rent his own quarters. He received this relatively mild treatment for three reasons:

• Paul was a Roman citizen.³

• He had received favorable verdicts from governors Festus and Agrippa.

• The praetorian prefect overseeing prisoners from the provinces in the years A.D. 51–62 was the honest Afranius Burrus.

Paul’s trial took two years to conclude. According to Eusebius (History, 2.22,25), Paul was released but later detained again in Rome when Nero began to execute Christians.⁴ Paul was at that point probably placed in the tullianum, the underground execution cell of the prison at Rome.

Agrippa’s palace in Caesarea; probably the place of Paul’s imprisonment

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin

1. See “Tiberius Caesar, the Caesar of Jesus’ Ministry.”

2. See “Caesarea Maritima.”

3. See “Roman Citizenship.”

4. See “Nero, Persecutor of Christians” and “The Early Persecution of the Church.”

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So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: ²“King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, ³and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs^† and controversies.^† Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

⁴“The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child,^† from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. ⁵They have known me for a long time^† and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.^{† 6}And now it is because of my hope^† in what God has promised our fathers^† that I am on trial today. ⁷This is the promise our twelve tribes^† are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night.^† O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me.^{† 8}Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?^†

⁹“I too was convinced^† that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose^† the name of Jesus of Nazareth.^{† 10}And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints^† in prison,^† and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.^{† 11}Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished,^† and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

¹²“On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. ¹³About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. ¹⁴We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice^† saying to me in Aramaic,^[77] ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

¹⁵“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ¹⁶‘Now get up and stand on your feet.^† I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.^{† 17}I will rescue you^† from your own people and from the Gentiles.^† I am sending you to them ¹⁸to open their eyes^† and turn them from darkness to light,^† and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins^† and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’^†

¹⁹“So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. ²⁰First to those in Damascus,^† then to those in Jerusalem^† and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles^† also, I preached that they should repent^† and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.^{† 21}That is why the Jews seized me^† in the temple courts and tried to kill me.^{† 22}But I have had God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen^†— ²³that the Christ^[78] would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead,^† would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”^†

²⁴At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind,^† Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning^† is driving you insane.”

²⁵“I am not insane, most excellent^† Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. ²⁶The king is familiar with these things,^† and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. ²⁷King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

²⁸Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”^†

²⁹Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”^†

³⁰The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice^† and those sitting with them. ³¹They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.”^†

³²Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free^† if he had not appealed to Caesar.”^†

Acts 27

Paul Sails for Rome

¹When it was decided that we^† would sail for Italy,^† Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.^{† 2}We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia,^† and we put out to sea. Aristarchus,^† a Macedonian^† from Thessalonica,^† was with us.

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The Roman Army and the Occupation of the Holy Land

Roman soldier’s helmet

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin; permission of The Israel Museum

Acts 27 The Roman army was arguably the greatest single military organization in world history, as it was consistently victorious and maintained its identity and traditions for nearly a thousand years. The early Roman armies were composed entirely of property-owning citizens because service in the army was regarded as a privilege. Wealthier citizens formed the cavalry and poorer citizens the infantry (a necessary arrangement, since troops provided their own gear). Allies provided the manpower for specialized forces, such as archers. As Rome grew to be a world power, however, this arrangement proved inadequate.

In 107 B.C. C. Marius reformed the army and accepted landless recruits, equipping them at state expense. This was the beginning of professional Roman armies that owed their allegiance to their generals and also expected from them rich rewards for years of loyal service. In 88 B.C. Sulla used his legions to seize power in Rome itself, and this precedent began a series of civil wars. Julius Caesar employed his armies to end the republic and establish himself as dictator, but the turmoil did not end until Augustus established the empire and placed all legions under his direct command.¹

Although Rome produced a number of great generals, the secret of Roman success lay in the legendary discipline of its troops. Ancient battles, because they were fought face-to-face and were bloody affairs, tended to be extremely short, typically ending as soon as one side panicked, broke ranks and fled. Romans, when confronted, for example, with a furious onslaught of Gauls, simply refused to break ranks, and after a few minutes of fighting the Gauls turned and ran. The Carthaginian Hannibal, the greatest general Rome ever faced, inflicted a terrible defeat on the Roman army at Cannae in 216 B.C. Even so, Roman perseverance won out, and Hannibal ultimately lost the Second Punic War.

The presence of Roman armies in Judea created an explosive situation. The Jews despised the Romans as pagans and were offended at the presence of Roman war standards, with the idol-like eagle at the top, in close proximity to their temple. Fanatics and messianic pretenders, such as Bar-Kokhba, assured the Jews that God would intervene if they were to rise up against Rome. For their part, Romans sometimes infuriated Jews with needless insults. Two Jewish revolts (A.D. 66–70 and 132–135) both ended in catastrophic defeat for the Jewish people.

Roman roof tile found in Britain with the emblem of the twentieth legion, the boar

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin

1. See “Rome” and “The Roman Empire.”

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³The next day we landed at Sidon;^† and Julius, in kindness to Paul,^† allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.^{† 4}From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.^{† 5}When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia^† and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. ⁶There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship^† sailing for Italy^† and put us on board. ⁷We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course,^† we sailed to the lee of Crete,^† opposite Salmone. ⁸We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

⁹Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast.^{[79] †} So Paul warned them, ¹⁰“Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.”^{† 11}But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. ¹²Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.

The Storm

¹³When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. ¹⁴Before very long, a wind of hurricane force,^† called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island. ¹⁵The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. ¹⁶As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure. ¹⁷When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground^† on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. ¹⁸We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.^{† 19}On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. ²⁰When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

²¹After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice^† not to sail from Crete;^† then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. ²²But now I urge you to keep up your courage,^† because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. ²³Last night an angel^† of the God whose I am and whom I serve^† stood beside me^{† 24}and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar;^† and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’^{† 25}So keep up your courage,^† men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.^{† 26}Nevertheless, we must run aground^† on some island.”^†

The Shipwreck

²⁷On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic^[80] Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. ²⁸They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet^[81] deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet^[82] deep. ²⁹Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. ³⁰In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat^† down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. ³¹Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”^{† 32}So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall away.

³³Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. ³⁴Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.”^{† 35}After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it^† and began to eat. ³⁶They were all encouraged^† and ate some food themselves. ³⁷Altogether there were 276 of us on board. ³⁸When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.^†

³⁹When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach,^† where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. ⁴⁰Cutting loose the anchors,^† they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. ⁴¹But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.^†

⁴²The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. ⁴³But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life^† and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. ⁴⁴The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.^†

Acts 28

Ashore on Malta

¹Once safely on shore, we^† found out that the island^† was called Malta. ²The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. ³Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. ⁴When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand,^† they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”^{† 5}But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.^{† 6}The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.^†

⁷There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. ⁸His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer,^† placed his hands on him and healed him.^{† 9}When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. ¹⁰They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

Arrival at Rome

¹¹After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship^† with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. ¹²We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. ¹³From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. ¹⁴There we found some brothers^† who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵The brothers^† there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged. ¹⁶When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.^†

Paul Preaches at Rome Under Guard

¹⁷Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews.^† When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers,^† although I have done nothing against our people^† or against the customs of our ancestors,^† I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. ¹⁸They examined me^† and wanted to release me,^† because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death.^{† 19}But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar^†—not that I had any charge to bring against my own people. ²⁰For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel^† that I am bound with this chain.”^†

²¹They replied, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of the brothers^† who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. ²²But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.”^†

²³They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God^† and tried to convince them about Jesus^† from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.^{† 24}Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.^{† 25}They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁶“ ‘Go to this people and say,

“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”

²⁷For this people’s heart has become calloused;^†

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’^{[83] †}

²⁸“Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation^† has been sent to the Gentiles,^† and they will listen!”^[84]

³⁰For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. ³¹Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God^† and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

ROMANS

Author, Place and Date of Writing

That Paul is the author of Romans (1:1) is virtually undisputed. The book is generally dated to A.D. 57, probably during Paul’s third missionary journey (Ac 20). He desired to carry the gospel to the west, having nearly completed his work in the eastern Mediterranean (Ro 15:19, 24). Most scholars believe that Paul wrote this letter from Corinth.

Audience

Paul’s original readers were the believers—predominately Gentiles (Ro 1:13)—in Rome. Paul introduced himself to the Roman church (one he had not personally founded) and explained why he intended to visit.

Cultural Facts and Highlights

For many years Paul had desired to visit Rome to minister there (1:13–15). Some surmise that he was hoping to use Rome as a base for his missionary venture to Spain and so wrote this letter to explain the nature of his work. Others suggest that the epistle had a pastoral purpose of healing divisions within the Roman church (14:1–15:6), while still others posit that it was apologetic in purpose, that Paul’s gospel was under attack and that he needed to defend his core teaching that “the righteous will live by faith” (1:17) against the slanderous accusation that he was preaching an antinomian and libertine gospel (3:8). Whatever Paul’s overriding purpose, it is clear that a major concern of the book is the relationship between Jew and Gentile in God’s overall plan of redemption.

Timeline

As You Read

Be alert for the recurring topics of faith and works, law and grace, sin and righteousness, judgment and justification. Notice the systematic and comprehensive explanation of the gospel as presented by Paul: Gentiles came from a background of idolatry and unbelief, as over against Jews, whose heritage included knowing the law and promises of God; yet all have sinned (chs. 1–3). Justification is by faith and not by works, yet this does not provide license to live in sin (chs. 4–6). Jews, who had previously sought righteousness by works, did not find it, whereas Gentiles, who did not seek God through the law, found him and had been grafted into the true Israel of faith. This is by divine election and the plan of God—who has nevertheless remembered his people Israel (chs. 9–11). From this foundation of faith, Paul moved into concerns that relate to the everyday Christian life (chs. 12–15).

Did You Know?

• Jews of that day regarded themselves as superior to Gentiles because they (the Jews) possessed the Mosaic Law (2:1).
• Large amounts of wealth were often stored in pagan temples (2:22).
• In New Testament times baptism so closely followed conversion that the two were considered aspects of a single event (6:3–4).
• Adoption was common among the Greeks and Romans, both of whom granted an adopted son all of the privileges of a natural son, including inheritance rights (8:15).

Themes

The book of Romans includes the following themes:

1. God’s faithfulness. A central theme of Romans is God’s covenant faithfulness. His fidelity to his promise to Abraham is revealed in salvation on the basis of faith. Both Jews and Gentiles find righteousness before God through faith in Jesus (3:21–26).
2. Righteousness. Neither Jew nor Gentile is on personal merit righteous before God; each, apart from Christ, is under his wrath (2:1–3:20). But there is Good News: Through Jesus’ death, God credits his own righteousness to all who believe and rely on his promise of salvation in Christ (3:21–5:21). Through their union with Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit enables Christians to live righteous lives here and now (6:1–8:39).
3. Reconciliation. Romans is marked by Paul’s concern for racial reconciliation and cross-cultural sensitivity. His advice on resolving internal conflicts in the church (14:1–15:6) lifts up Christ’s attitude as the example for our own (15:1–6). Paul reiterated Jesus’ teaching that love of neighbor fulfills the law’s intent (13:8–10).

Outline

I. Introduction (1:1–15)

II. Theme: Righteousness From God (1:16–17)

III. The Unrighteousness of All Humankind (1:18–3:20)

IV. Justification (3:21–5:21)

A. Righteousness Comes Only Through Christ (3:21–26)

B. Righteousness Is Received by Faith (3:27–4:25)

C. Peace and Joy Are Fruits of Righteousness (5:1–11)

D. Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ (5:12–21)

V. Sanctification (6–8)

A. Slaves to Sin or Slaves to Righteousness (6)

B. The Struggle With Sin (7)

C. The Spirit-Empowered Life (8)

VI. God’s Righteousness Vindicated: The Problem of Israel’s Rejection (9–11)

A. God’s Sovereign Choice (9:1–29)

B. Israel’s Unbelief (9:30–10:21)

C. The Remnant and the Ingrafted Branches (11)

VII. Righteousness Practiced (12:1–15:13)

VIII. Conclusion (15:14–16:27)

Romans 1

¹Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle^† and set apart^† for the gospel of God^† — ²the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures^{† 3}regarding his Son, who as to his human nature^† was a descendant of David, ⁴and who through the Spirit^[1] of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God^[2] by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles^† to the obedience that comes from faith.^{† 6}And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.^†

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Homosexuality in the Ancient World

Romans 1 In Romans 1:24–32 Paul described the depravity of the Gentiles. He cited homosexuality as the prime example and proof of their reprobation. In this behavior they demonstrated the reality that rejecting God leads to a perversion of everything that is good and right. Indeed, widespread homosexuality remains irrefutable proof that a culture stands under divine judgment.

Today, however, many interpreters assert that reading Romans 1 in light of the cultural backdrop of the Greco-Roman world reveals that Paul was not really condemning homosexuality itself but was reproving a particularly lustful, promiscuous version of this sexual inclination. In other words, according to these scholars homosexuality in the context of a caring, loving relationship is not only acceptable but outside the realm of Paul’s concern.

This interpretation is based upon a distortion of what we know of ancient practices and beliefs. Homosexuality was extremely common in the Greek world and by New Testament times had become widespread in the Roman world as well. Then, as now, there were homosexual orgies, but many other varieties of homosexual behavior were practiced as well, and we cannot say with certainty that pagan homosexual behavior was strictly of the orgiastic type. Greek men often engaged in homosexual relationships with adolescent boys; many, in fact, regarded this as a coming-of-age experience. Some homosexual attraction was described in highly romantic terms; both male and female poets celebrated their love for members of their own sex (Sappho, c. 630 B.C., was the most famous poet of this genre, although the precise nature of her relationship with the women of her poems is debated). The Roman emperor Hadrian was so overcome with passionate love for a young man named Antinous that when the object of his affection drowned, the grief-stricken emperor decreed that he be worshiped as a god.

Emperor Hadrian

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin; permission of The Israel Museum

The Jews, by contrast, regarded homosexuals as by nature depraved—an attitude founded upon Biblical texts such as Leviticus 18:22. Jewish writings of this period treated homosexual activity as meriting death and damnation. Paul, far from dissenting from this viewpoint, rigorously endorsed it (1Co 6:9). It is important to note, however, that neither Paul nor his Jewish contemporaries distinguished between lawful and illicit homosexuality. For them, such a sexual preference was by nature wrong in any context.

Evidence exists that even the Greeks may have been aware that this behavior was deviant. Aristophanes, the Greek comic poet, mocked homosexual behavior (even as he employed it as a comic device). For example, in Women at the Thesmophoria he ruthlessly ridiculed the notorious homosexuality of the poet Agathon. It would be an overstatement to claim that Aristophanes opposed homosexual practice, but his comedy betrayed an uneasy conscience about such behavior within the culture he inhabited. Plato, on the other hand, in his earlier dialogues spoke approvingly of homosexual behavior. Yet near the end of his career he observed in his Laws that homosexual intercourse was widely recognized to be unnatural.

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⁷To all in Rome who are loved by God^† and called to be saints:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.^†

Paul’s Longing to Visit Rome

⁸First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you,^† because your faith is being reported all over the world.^{† 9}God, whom I serve^† with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness^† how constantly I remember you ¹⁰in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.^†

¹¹I long to see you^† so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong — ¹²that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. ¹³I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now)^† in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

¹⁴I am obligated^† both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. ¹⁵That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.^†

¹⁶I am not ashamed of the gospel,^† because it is the power of God^† for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew,^† then for the Gentile.^{† 17}For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed,^† a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,^[3] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”^{[4] †}

God’s Wrath Against Mankind

¹⁸The wrath of God^† is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.^{† 20}For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,^† so that men are without excuse.

²¹For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.^{† 22}Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools^{† 23}and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images^† made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over^† in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.^{† 25}They exchanged the truth of God for a lie,^† and worshiped and served created things^† rather than the Creator — who is forever praised.^† Amen.

²⁶Because of this, God gave them over^† to shameful lusts.^† Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.^{† 27}In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.^†

²⁸Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over^† to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,^{† 30}slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;^{† 31}they are senseless, faithless, heartless,^† ruthless. ³²Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,^† they not only continue to do these very things but also approve^† of those who practice them.

Romans 2

God’s Righteous Judgment

¹You, therefore, have no excuse,^† you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.^{† 2}Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? ⁴Or do you show contempt for the riches^† of his kindness,^† tolerance^† and patience,^† not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?^†

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Rome

Romans 2 During the first century A.D. Rome boasted a population of approximately one million people. The city was home to numerous temples, such as the temple of Concord, the temple of Castor and the temple of Vesta, the last a modest but ancient structure dedicated to the hearth goddess and served by the vestal virgins. The ancient center of religious, cultural, commercial and political life was the Roman Forum, although in the first century several other large fora (such as the Forum of Augustus and the Forum of Julius Caesar) stood nearby.

Augustus Caesar and his lieutenant M. Vispanius Agrippa had overseen a great deal of construction in Rome a century earlier, during the late first century B.C.¹ Their works included the Pantheon (a temple dedicated to all of Rome’s gods),² the Altar of Peace, the imperial residence on the Palatine hill, the temple of Julius Caesar, a triumphal arch, new aqueducts and sewer systems and numerous other structures. Augustus boasted that he had found Rome a city of stone and left it a city of marble.

Even so, many of Rome’s residents lived in squalor. Massive apartment buildings called insulae (lit., “islands”) were interspersed throughout the city.³ Besides being crime-ridden, these areas were firetraps, and in A.D. 64 a massive conflagration gutted three of the fourteen regions of the city, leaving only four unscathed. Nero, who was emperor at the time, used the denuded land to build an extravagant residence for himself that he called the domus aurea (“gold house”).⁴ The famous Colosseum, an amphitheater seating 50,000, was dedicated in A.D. 80. The Arch of Titus, constructed in A.D. 81, commemorates the Roman sacking of Jerusalem.⁵

Rome was home to an ethnically mixed population, including a significant number of Jews.⁶ Ethnic groups tended to cluster in distinct neighborhoods, and the city suffered from severe disparity of class. One-third to one-half of Rome’s residents were slaves or recently freed slaves, although slaves were not necessarily at the bottom of the social ladder.⁷ It is likely that the free poor experienced the most difficult lot and lived in the direst of conditions. The needy depended upon government largess and could quickly become a mob (thus the common saying that the people demanded “bread and circuses”).

Rome, the center of trade within the empire, was easily accessible via a vast network of roads and seaways. Similar to the ethnic neighborhoods, the marketplace was organized into quarters that were clustered according to categories of trade. This made it easy for the foreign visitor to find others who shared in his craft and for consumers to locate items for purchase. Those who shared a particular profession frequently formed clubs and associations, enabling a shared social life as well as a shared business community.⁸

The Church of Saint Peter is located at the traditional (but unsubstantiated) burial site of the apostle Peter, while the Church of Saint Paul, outside the city walls, marks the traditional burial place of Paul; a slab found there dating to the time of Constantine is inscribed with the words PAULO APOSTOLO MART[YRI] (“to the Apostle Paul, martyr”).⁹

The Palatine Hill in Rome

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin; on licence Ministero per i Beni le Attivita Culturali-Soprintendza Archeologica di Rom

1. See “Caesar Augustus, Emperor of Rome; the Census; and Quirinius, Governor of Syria.”

2. See “The Gods of the Greeks and Romans.”

3. See “Houses in the Holy Land of the First Century A.D.: Peter’s House in Capernaum; Insulae.”

4. See “Nero, Persecutor of Christians.”

5. See “Josephus and the Fall of Jerusalem.”

6. See “The Jewish Diaspora in the First Century A.D..”

7. See “Slavery in the Greco-Roman World.”

8. See “Travel in the Greco-Roman World” and “Trade and Mercantilism in the Roman Empire.”

9. See “Constantine and Queen Helena’s Role in Preserving Holy Sites.”

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⁵ But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment^† will be revealed. ⁶God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”^{[5] † 7}To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor^† and immortality,^† he will give eternal life. ⁸But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil,^† there will be wrath and anger. ⁹There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;^{† 10}but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.^{† 11}For God does not show favoritism.^†

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Ancient Voices

Whether one makes the observation lightheartedly or in all seriousness, one must observe that, when the male body unites for procreation with the female, the pleasure that goes along with this is understood to be in accordance with nature, but that when male joins with male, or female with female, it is outside the bounds of nature. This outrage was first done by people whose desire for pleasure was without self-control.

—Plato on Homosexuality

From Plato, Laws, 636c, trans. by Duane Garrett

See “Homosexuality in the Ancient World” article.

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¹²All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law^† will be judged by the law. ¹³For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey^† the law who will be declared righteous. ¹⁴(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law,^† they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, ¹⁵since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) ¹⁶This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets^† through Jesus Christ,^† as my gospel^† declares.

The Jews and the Law

¹⁷Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God;^{† 18}if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; ¹⁹if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, ²⁰an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth — ²¹you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?^{† 22}You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?^{† 23}You who brag about the law,^† do you dishonor God by breaking the law? ²⁴As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”^{[6] †}

²⁵Circumcision has value if you observe the law,^† but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.^{† 26}If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements,^† will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?^{† 27}The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you^† who, even though you have the^[7] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

²⁸A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly,^† nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.^{† 29}No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit,^† not by the written code.^† Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.^†

Romans 3

God’s Faithfulness

¹What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? ²Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.^†

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Circumcision in the Ancient World

Romans 3 The significance of circumcision among non-Israelites of the ancient world is debated among scholars (whether circumcision was a rite of marriage or of puberty or was practiced for hygienic purposes). But for Israel the rite served as a “sign” of the people’s covenant pledge to “walk before [Yahweh]¹ and be blameless” (Ge 17:1, 11). The procedure was performed on the male reproductive organ in order to remind the recipient that the oath of allegiance was binding on both himself and his offspring. It is also probable that the cutting ritual within the covenant context (cf. Ge 15:7–18; Jer 34:17–20) pointed to the curse of being “cut off” that was to be brought upon all covenant violators (cf. Ge 17:14; Ex 4:25).

Israel’s full removal of the foreskin made its brand of circumcision a mark of ethnic distinction, setting apart Israelite males from the Egyptians and from many of Israel’s western Semitic neighbors (cf. Jer 9:24–25), who performed the rite only by slitting the foreskin; from the “uncircumcised” Philistines and the eastern Semites of Mesopotamia, who did not practice the ritual at all; and, finally, from the Greeks and Romans of the intertestamental and New Testament periods, who were repulsed by all forms of circumcision.

Greek text of Romans 3; Egypt, third century A.D.

© The Schøyen Collection; photography courtesy of Mr. Martin Schøyen

It is not surprising that for Israel the term “foreskin” bore a negative connotation, representing all that was opposed to God and his people. In contrast, the term “circumcision” was used metaphorically to point to one who had renounced pagan practices and was now fully devoted to Yahweh (Dt 10:16; Jer 4:4). Following the establishment of the Christian faith, all national markers such as physical circumcision lost their value, and God’s people became distinguished solely by faith working itself out in love—the true sign of their identification with the Messiah through the transforming work of the Spirit (Ro 2:28–29; Gal 5:6; 6:14–16; cf. Dt 30:6; Jer 31:33; 32:39; Eze 36:26–27).

1. See Glossary for definitions of bolded words.

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³What if some did not have faith?^† Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?^{† 4}Not at all! Let God be true,^† and every man a liar.^† As it is written:

“So that you may be proved right when you speak

and prevail when you judge.”^{[8] †}

⁵But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)^{† 6}Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?^{† 7}Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory,^† why am I still condemned as a sinner?” ⁸Why not say — as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say — “Let us do evil that good may result”?^† Their condemnation is deserved.

No One Is Righteous

⁹What shall we conclude then? Are we any better^[9]? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.^{† 10}As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;

¹¹there is no one who understands,

no one who seeks God.

¹²All have turned away,

they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.”^{[10] †}

¹³“Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit.”^{[11] †}

“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”^{[12] †}

¹⁴“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”^{[13] †}

¹⁵“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

¹⁶ruin and misery mark their ways,

¹⁷and the way of peace they do not know.”^[14]

¹⁸“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”^{[15] †}

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says,^† it says to those who are under the law,^† so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law;^† rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.^†

Righteousness Through Faith

²¹But now a righteousness from God,^† apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.^{† 22}This righteousness from God comes through faith^† in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,^{† 23}for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified freely by his grace^† through the redemption^† that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,^{[16] †} through faith in his blood.^† He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished^† — ²⁶he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

²⁷Where, then, is boasting?^† It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. ²⁸For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.^{† 29}Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,^{† 30}since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.^{† 31}Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Romans 4

Abraham Justified by Faith

¹What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? ²If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about — but not before God.^{† 3}What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^{[17] †}

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Ancient Voices

Now they had left Trebonius, a member of the conspiracy, to delay Antony at the door with conversation. The others stood about Caesar as he sat in his chair as if they were his friends, but they had concealed daggers. One of their group, Tillius Cimber, approached him to his face and asked for the recall of his banished brother. While Caesar was answering that he was deferring this matter, Cimber seized the purple of Caesar’s toga as though pressing his request, pulled back the cloak from his neck, and shouted, “Why wait any longer, friends?” Casca was first; he was standing over Caesar’s head and drove his dagger at his throat, but he slipped and struck him in the chest. Caesar snatched his toga from Cimber, grabbed Casca’s hand, sprang from his chair and turned back, and then threw down Casca with great force. While Caesar was twisted back like this, someone else thrust a dagger in his side. Cassius stabbed him in the face, Brutus got him in the thigh, and Bucolianus in the back. Caesar turned against each of them, raging and shouting like an animal, but when he recognized that Brutus was striking him, he despaired, wrapped himself in his toga, and fell with dignity beside the statue of Pompey.

—The Historian Appian on the Assassination of Julius Caesar

From Appian, Roman History, 2.16, trans. by Duane Garrett

See “The Roman Empire.”

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The Roman Empire

Romans 4 Tradition claims that Rome was founded in 753 B.C. and originally ruled by a series of kings.¹ Located at a cluster of hills on the Tiber River in central Italy, Rome from its earliest years pressed against the Etruscans to the north and the Latin and Greek colonists to the south in a lengthy process of gaining control of the Italian peninsula. The Roman monarchy ended around 509 B.C. and was replaced by the republic. Most of Italy was under Roman control by the mid-third century B.C., and in the latter part of that century Rome fought a series of wars against the North African city of Carthage (the Punic Wars). In the Second Punic War (218–201 B.C.) Rome suffered a series of catastrophic defeats against the Carthaginian Hannibal but ultimately prevailed due to sheer force of will, thereby gaining control of the western Mediterranean. Moving into the eastern Mediterranean, the Romans subdued the Greeks, Anatolia (Turkey), Syria and the Holy Land. Egypt’s independence ended when the last pharaoh, Cleopatra, committed suicide before the onslaught of Roman forces in 30 B.C.

Meanwhile the government in the Roman Republic, which had been designed with a complex set of checks and balances, became increasingly paralyzed and characterized by political strife. Generals such as Gaius Marius (c. 157–86 B.C.) and Lucius Cornelius Sulla (c. 138–78 B.C.) demonstrated that a successful general could control Roman politics solely with his army.² Gaius Julius Caesar (c. 100–44 B.C.) exploited this to the full and, after conquering Gaul (France) and then defeating his rival Pompey the Great (c. 106–48 B.C.) in a civil war, was declared dictator for life in Rome. Conservatives in the Senate assassinated him in an attempt to restore the republic, but it had run its course. In a series of civil wars, Octavian (Augustus Caesar), great-nephew and adopted heir of Julius Caesar, established himself as sole ruler of the Roman world.³

This began the period of Roman history known as the Principate (27 B.C.–A.D. 285), during which the Roman world was ruled by a series of emperors. After a long decline, Emperor Diocletian (A.D. 245–316) restored order and divided the empire into four administrative districts. Diocletian’s abdication was followed by another period of war and confusion, from which Constantine the Great (c. 280–337) emerged victorious. He moved his capital city to Byzantium, renaming it Constantinople (modern Istanbul), and declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire.⁴ The western empire declined and collapsed in 476 with the abdication of Romulus Augustulus, but its eastern counterpart survived as the Byzantine Empire until Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

Emperor Claudius

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin; permission of The British Museum

The Roman Principate provides the political and cultural framework for the writings of the New Testament. Cities that fell under Roman control had various histories of relations with Rome. Tarsus, for instance, was a free city that was not taxed,⁵ and Corinth and Philippi, as official Roman colonies, were permitted certain legal benefits.⁶ Roman citizenship, although widely extended, was not granted to all who lived under Roman control.⁷ An extensive system of roads benefited both the military and commercial pursuits of the empire.⁸ With an economy based largely upon agriculture and slavery, the ranks of the lower classes swelled.

The Roman world incorporated a confusing array of religions, cults and superstitions. In addition, Roman emperors were deified at death, and all within the empire were expected to manifest their loyalty to Rome by participating in the imperial cult, paying homage to the current Caesar as lord.⁹ When Christians refused to do so, they were accused of treason.¹⁰ Even so, the peaceful conditions that prevailed at this time (the pax Romana or “peace of Rome”), the common Greco-Roman culture and the vast transportation system allowed Christianity to flourish.

1. See “Rome.”

2. See “The Roman Army and the Occupation of the Holy Land.”

3. See “Caesar Augustus, Emperor of Rome; the Census; and Quirinius, Governor of Syria.”

4. See “Constantine and Queen Helena’s Roles in Preserving Holy Sites.”

5. See “Roman Taxation.”

6. See “Corinth” and “Philippi.”

7. See “Roman Citizenship.”

8. See “Travel in the Greco-Roman World” and “Trade and Mercantilism in the Roman Empire.”

9. See “The Imperial Cult.”

10.See “The Early Persecution of the Church.”

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⁴Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift,^† but as an obligation. ⁵However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. ⁶David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁷“Blessed are they

whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

⁸Blessed is the man

whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”^{[18] †}

⁹Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?^† We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.^{† 10}Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! ¹¹And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.^† So then, he is the father^† of all who believe^† but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹²And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

¹³It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise^† that he would be heir of the world,^† but through the righteousness that comes by faith. ¹⁴For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless,^{† 15}because law brings wrath.^† And where there is no law there is no transgression.^†